Summary: continuation from gmd003. Interview with #MN6 from #AD4, a locality where the residents resisted the attacking mobs. He talks about the day the locality was attacked, how the police intervened on behalf of the rioters, and so their houses were burnt. He speaks about the ridiculous compensation given by the government, and the substantial help given by the Islamic Relief Committee. Interviews with one Hindu woman and one Muslim woman of the same locality. They talk about the days of the attacks and how they got together to resist and fight back, how they had to give up fighting eventually and escape. Talk about local activists and their continuous support to the victims. Last few minutes are the beginning of an interview with a camp organiser who describes how the camp was set up. Interview continued in gmd005.

This video is part of a collection documenting the events of three days in #AD4, a slum colony in Ahmedabad city, after the burning of Hindu activists on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra station on Feb 27th, 2002.

The Godhra killings were shocking in themselves, but the Hindu right-wing's systematic targeting of Muslim citizens for three days after Godhra shook the faith of all who had believed the country to be a secular democracy.

For three days – Feb 27th, 28th and March 1st - the state government and state police allowed the right-wing mobs to "retaliate". They raped, looted, burned and murdered freely. We know this through thousands of first-hand accounts related by the victims and witnesses of the rampaging mobs and indifferent government agencies.

About a month after the post-Godhra carnage,a group of filmmakers, camerapersons, media students and other volunteers formed the Shared Footage Group that spent close to a year traveling through the relief camps, decimated slums and housing societies to record people’s accounts of what happened in those three days. The stories are varied. Victims in some cases comprised Dalit Hindus, and saviors, in some instances, included local political leaders and policemen with a conscience.

The story of this Basti, (locality) told through these events here, is relatively painless. Relatively, because people lost everything they possessed, but remained alive. Here is their telling of what happened to them in their own homes in those 'days of calamity' or "qayamat ke din".

The interviewer asks how the slum residents defended their homes in the second phase of the attacks.

The man answers that they would chase the attackers away till the far side of the road, beyond which the police would not allow them to go. The police, however, never stopped the attackers who came at the slum from a kilometre away, burning houses and shops along the way.

He says the slum-dwellers chased the attackers away only for their own defence. They had no desire to cause trouble. They could have killed the attackers if they'd wanted to. He says that the slum-dwellers are not terrorists, but daily labourers. He says that causing trouble is the intention of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the RSS. They should be banned. They don't have the right to live in this country.

Interviewer asks if they tried at all to reason with the attackers - to tell them that it is a poor slum, etc. The man says that it would have been pointless. On 28th February, he says that they heard that 36 Muslims had been burnt alive in Naroda. Half an hour later they heard of the Gulbarg Society murders. They did not feel there was any point in appealing to the attackers' noble instincts. The attackers were out to burn down everything - houses, shops and people too.

Gulbarg Society
Naroda

A reasonable conversation can happen between two reasonable people, not with a mob that had come to destroy.

Interviewer asks if the slum-dwellers asked for the police's help.
attackers
police

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mentions locality and leader

The man says that their local leader was with them all the time. He kept asking for reinforcements from two neighbouring police stations, but mostly the answer was no. Occasionally a police van arrived and chased the attackers away.

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mentions closest police stations

The man alledges that the police was working in support of the attackers for the most part. The police fired on slum-dwellers. They dragged residents out of their homes and beat them up.

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crew member mentions locality

The man describes the peak of the attack, and how the residents gave up and hid, because the attackers numbered fifteen to twenty thousand.

The interviewer asks how they protected their women and children during the attack.
The interviewer asks how they protected their women and children during the attack.
The man replies that when they came to know of the Naroda attack, they planned to save their women and children as best as they could. They sent them away to the camp on the other side of the tracks. They had no idea about anything, there was chaos, but on one side of the slum about twenty Muslims were waiting. They ushered the frightened families away to an open ground to rest and drink water.
children
women
refugee camp

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mentions landmark

He says that they'd known only of police and military camps so far. They'd never heard of a refugee camp. He says they never thought they'd be reduced to living in a refugee camp. In four days, a refugee camp sprung up.
government help

He says that people from slums all around came to that open ground that night, running away from the mobs that looted and burnt down their homes. That place became a camp that they had to live in for four months. At first the 20 who saved them fed everyone from their own plates. Then the government assisted them and after 5-6 days it became a full-fledged refugee camp.

The man says that everything burnt down in front of their eyes. They aren't terrorists that they had weapons to defend their homes. He says that they didn't even have sticks, whereas the attackers even had guns.

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crew member asks about inspector #MN4

The man says that he's lived in this place 24 years. His parents too live here. His father worked at the mill.

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mentions landmark

The man tells about where his family is from. They are Gujaratis, his father from Dholka an hour away. His mother is from Khamba, nearby. They married and settled in the city.

He says that when he was a child this area was just empty ground.

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mentions local community

Interviewer asks about the history of the slum, where people came from to live here.
The man says that 15-20 tribal families lived here at first. Then very poor people who had nothing came to build and live. They've all worked hard, and invested their earnings in building homes here. Some have worked 15 years to save enough money to build a house and buy what they need. All burnt and destroyed now.
Akshardham
Godhra
Haji Bilal
compensation cheques

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mentions local community

The government has handed out compensation cheques of Rs. 2,500 against losses of Rs. 25,000. The Islamic relief committee helped them rebuild homes, else they'd all be living on the street.

The goverment backs the VHP, it is not in our favour, he says. The man expresses mistrust of the government's motives. He says that after the Akshardham terror attack, they did not allow the Hindutva parties free reign, so there was no violent backlash. The State controlled it. He says that someone burnt the Kar Sevaks and the entire Muslim community is having to pay for this, because the State has allowed the VHP to act. Who knows who killed the Kar Sevaks? It could have been the State itself! He says that Haji Bilal, accused in the Godhra incident, is also in cahoots with the State government.

The man calls the chief minister the biggest terrorist in the country. He should be charged under POTA.

The interviewer asks about his work situation. The man says he is out of work. He is rebuilding his house. He eats food that they get from the refugee camp. The cycle he would ride to work is also burnt.

He says that elections are near, and now candidates are visiting the slum for the votes they might get. He says that they will drive these leaders away, who take their votes, and disappear for the five years that they are in office.
election
votes

He says 'We are Indian Muslims, we have a right to live in India. We haven't come from Saudi Arabia or Iraq. We were born here, this is our motherland.'

Indian Muslims

#AD3
Shot on 18.11.02
Visual
#AD4 story
shot of some hindu shop in #AD4 (not of any use), b.g shop owner is giving lecture to crew member when he was trying to pursue int with him

Shot of paan shop. Owner complains about lack of compensation from the Government. Various people complain, sound is nearly drowned by ambience traffic.

#AD3
Shot on 18.11.02
Visual
#AD4 story
shot of #MN42's shop, for interview refer to ghc025

#AD3
Shot on 19.11.02 01:30pm
Visual
#AD4 story
shot of #FN21 entering her house, interview with her later on in the tape

Shot of woman (next interviewee), women and children in their homes. They prepare for the interview. Hindu and Muslim homes seem to be side by side.

The Hindu and Muslim women begin to introduce themselves and where they live.
One woman narrates: On Feb 27th, 2002, on night shift at the hospital she works at, she saw a Muslim man attacked by a mob of people. She came back and told everyone in her slum. The next day many of them left their houses and went to take shelter. The mob came with weapons and looted and burnt. Her son was fired on by the police. No one cooked or ate, they just fled.

The first attack on Feb 28th was at night, she says. The local boys chased them away. But the next morning the mob came before 6am, the slum-dwellers had returned home, but the mob started chasing them out again. Then the mob came again in the afternoon. They started burning everything, surrounding the houses. Her family and she were at home: pregnant sister-in-law and old parents too. She got 4-5 people out to safety.
February 28th
burning houses
police sub-inspector

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mentions sister-in-law's name

She says when they began burning houses at 2:30-3 in the afternoon, the residents ran away, knowing they would not be able to save their homes.

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mention of inspector #MN41

She says the police sub-inspector was also part of the arsonists, burning houses. She says her young son who was arrested by the police told her so. She says that she herded five families to safety.

#AD3
Interview
Shot on 19.11.02
#AD4 story
int with #FN21 starts, f, 35+, link to another interview with her in gmd006

The second woman in the trio takes up the narration. She works at the office of a local leader.
The woman narrates that 6 or 7 years before this time, there was a riot. While trying to escape the slum-dwellers broke open a passage through the railway station to another neighbourhood. They've kept the passage open since, for their safety.

mace
mob
railway tracks
riot
sword
tear gas
trident
weapons

On the day of the bandh (Feb 28th), she says they were at the office watching the news about the Godhra incident on TV. By 6 in the evening, the local leader asked everyone to collect their valuables and get outside. They all gathered on the road. The women and children gathered up sticks, bricks and stones and piled them up. So when the mob of 40 to 50 people arrived around 7pm, the slum-dwellers hit back with stones and managed to chase them away.

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions landmark

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mentions activist's name

The woman talks about their leader's support. He stayed the night in the office and made many phone calls, trying to garner protection. But no one agreed to help. The leader stayed with the people at the office, went home to take a break at 5am.

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

At 6am a mob came to attack the place. The woman says they shut the office. The leader came back at 7:30am but could not muster any support or protection from the authorities. Then the leader told the slum-dwellers to defend themselves, because no one was coming to help. The residents brought all the sticks and bricks they could gather to the street. They defended themselves successfully against attacks at 6pm and 10pm.

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mentions landmark

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

But at 12:30 in the night the rioters returned with swords, maces and tridents. They surrounded the place. The residents gave up. Their leaders advised the women and children to make a getaway. They saved every child among them, taking them over through the railway fence. Hindus, Muslims, all.

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activists' names

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mentions nearby locality

Even as the residents hid in the government colony, the mob came to get them. They said to hand the muslims over to them. She says that even in the government colony there are Muslims and Hindus all living together. They reasoned with the mob, saying that Muslims are human too. The ones responsible for the Godhra attack might be punished, but why punish innocent people? The government colony people refused to allow the mob in.

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions nearby locality

The mob broke Hindu houses too. The slum-dwellers and the next locality people drove away the mob. The mob started burning houses and vehicles. The slum-dwellers continued to hide in the railway colony. The mob looted and burned from 12:30 that night until 2 the next afternoon. The rioters were going off, resting, eating and coming back to loot and pillage. Whereas the slum-dwellers were hiding, sleepless and starving. They were praying to God for help - Hindus and Muslims together.

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions nearby locality

The police came by and fired tear gas into the slum-dwellers' houses when they tried to defend their homes. She says that they were blinded by this. A Muslim woman in the nearby locality washed out their eyes with salt water. Three days at the nearby locality was hard too, because the mob kept coming back to demand that the Muslim be handed over for them to burn. So the slum-dwellers finally ran away on the 2nd of March even from here.

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mentions nearby locality

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mentions nearby locality

She explains that six of her family members decided to continue at the nearby colony. The rest who fled found some help ahead at the refugee camp.

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mentions names of family members

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mentions nearby locality and survivor's name

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mentions activist's name

For six days there was violence, bombs and tear gas being shelled at night. The people could not go out safely. After 6 days her group left the nearby colony On the seventh day the army arrived.

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mentions family member's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

She talks about the leader's support for them. He said what will you do? She said that they would stay on. The leader's people says don't worry about food, we will provide it.

Hindu families
Muslim families
arrests
leader

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions saviour's name and nearby locality

She says that Hindus and Muslims are the same in god's eyes and that the differences are caused by politicians and corrupt government. But that everyone has to die someday and will have to answer.

She indicates the woman to her left. She says that this woman left her daughter and son-in-law in her care and went looking for help. She says that she promised this neighbour that if the Hindu mob comes, she will die before allowing them to touch her family. So she should go and find help without worrying.

Six days later they got an assurance of help from the relief camp. So she sent the neighbour's family away. She felt that the Hindus would help her own family out, so she should stay on. For ten days, the leader and his people provided the woman narrating (and her kinspeople) food. She praises his commitment and hardwork. He still gives them food.

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mentions name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activists name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

The leader and these Hindu families were threatened by outsiders who told them to leave the place. But the leader replied that he doesn't mind getting killed, but he won't leave his Muslim brothers and go. Even now people tell her, she says, why do you live among these Muslims? She replies that the Muslim brethren is better than the Hindus. The Hindu mob burnt Hindu homes alongside Muslim homes. They just came to burn. They did not care who.

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mentions activist's name

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mentions activist's name

She says that fourteen boys (Hindu and Muslim), the most brave of their young men who were defending the place, were picked up by the police. Once they were taken away, the place was burnt down.

Since the riot, she says they have come back to live at the slum under the leader's guidance and to support him. The place is in ruins and deserted, but she says that they will live and die together, right here. Six months down the line, the leader has helped them rebuild their homes and light their stoves again.

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mentions activist's name

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mention of inspector #MN4

She says that she saw the Police Sub Inspector's vehicle at the road crossing with the mob, but was far away herself, here with the women and children. These were gathering bricks and stones on the street as a second line of defence. Their men had gone ahead. The police fired tear gas at the residents, she says.

bridge
petrol bomb
police sub-inspector

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mention of inspector #MN4

The Police Sub Inspector came, the residents surrounded it. But then the mob threw petrol bombs down from the bridge. The attack happened in front of the police.

The interviewer asks about the attacks from the bridge. She says that the attackers used to pelt stones. The residents would climb up from stairs under the bridge to fight back, but they comprised old men, mostly so they weren't really equipped to fight back. Still they did fight. This went on all day repeatedly - the attacks and the repelling of attacks.

She says they had no peace on the 1st. They could not eat or rest, there were so many attacks. After 1pm, the slum-dwellers retreated. They took all the children, Hindu and Muslim, and escaped through the broken fence into the nearby colony.

When the 14 young men who had fought bravely were arrested, the rest lost hope and ran.

She talks about her background. That she's lived here 20 years. Her husband is a pedal rickshaw puller.
jobs
labour
small business

They talk about a riot that took place 5 years ago. It was not on this scale. The first woman also states that she's lived in this slum 20 years.

#AD3
Interview
Shot on 19.11.02
#AD4 story
#FN22 starts talking

The first woman explains that she's from Valsad, Surat and came here when she got married. Her husband was born here, and used to work at a Press, till he fell ill five years ago. She began working five years ago. Her husband was a daily wage worker, he didn't have a permanent job.

The second woman says that the people of this place are uneducated and poor. They work labour jobs and the households run on one person's income. Some of the women here are educated, some are not. They work at domestic help, at small businesses, sell fruits and vegetables. Whatever their men bring home, they manage to feed their families with.

The man in the office introduces himself. He's the organiser of an area relief camp. He used to work for the Gujarat government on sending pilgrims to Haj, have also helped organise relief after the Latur earthquake.
Police Commissioner
refugees
relief camp
victims

He talks now about the events of 28th February. At 4pm, the Police Comissioner sent a message to him saying that a large number of Muslims from a particular area, where murders happened, need a place to lodge. The interviewee says that his own house is large so he wondered whether to accomodate 200 people there. So he said alright. At 5pm the Commissioner told him that he was having trouble getting the refugees there because of the law and order situation. The interviewee says that he told the Commissioner that he had been receiving many calls for help and asked if he could have a guarded vehicle to go to their rescue. The Comissioner agreed. He asked the man to organise a camp and a doctor, saying that the victims of the attack really need help.

He speaks about the heartrending condition of victims who'd been attacked by rampaging mobs for eight hours. He brought in a doctor and ambulance. The vehicle he'd been assigned managed to save hundreds of people in the 10km radius.

He spoke to a friend who runs a school and asked whether the 1200 refugee families in his care could be accomodated there. They asked the neighbouring mosques to provide food for the hungry. Food came in from mosques and neighborhood families. Items of immediate use came from homes. There was so much help pouring in that a committee was spontaneously formed. Theirs, he says, was the second relief camp to be started in Gujarat.

Their camp had about 8,000 people. They were provided with three meals and milk for the children, fruits and medicines (and a medical centre) for the sick. Toilets were constructed. It had at any point of time between 2000 and 8000 people. 134 marriages were conducted, 53 babies were born. Many ex-Prime Ministers (aside of the present one) and even Sonia Gandhi visited this camp and spoke with love to the refugees here.

Sonia Gandhi
ex-Prime Minister
food
medical help
relief camp

People from all over Gujarat were in this camp. 54 businessmen who'd come for a Government trade fair to Gujarat were sent off by air back to Agra, Delhi, Bombay, Banaras and Bangalore. Aside of these, there were about 1200 families lodged at this camp. They helped 840 families start businesses again, helping them acquire sewing machines, autorickshaws and pushcarts - anything they could do to begin earning their living again.

blankets
businesses
clothes
cooking
grain
relief
utensils

When they closed the camp they gave each one Rs. 3,500, blankets, clothes, cooking sets, grain. Whatever people needed to set up a home again. Even daily use items like towels, soap and toothbrushes.

He says that their camp got aid from both Muslim and Hindu NGOs, like from Chunnikaka Vediya, a Gandhian who came every third day to ask how things were going at the camp. He would donate whatever they needed, even if it was a spoon. If a refugee needed him to just sit and have a meal with him, Vediya would.